New product developments for poultry processing equipment

JF Equipment, one of South Africa's leading developers
of poultry processing machinery, has begun developing equipment previously only
available by import.

The first of these machines, which will be available later in 2008, is an
inside outside washer designed to reduce the cost of ownership for abattoirs the
world over.

â€œDeveloping products that are cost effective, of the best quality and
incorporate the best technology available on the market is our goal at JF
Equipment,â€ says Pat Young, Sales Director for JF Equipment.

The evisceration process involves six complex stages, each requiring highly
sophisticated equipment which is complicated to repair and use parts that are
both expensive and time-consuming to obtain. In order to reduce these costs of
ownership for abattoir operators, JF Equipment is developing a line of
evisceration equipment that will incorporate the best principles of equipment
design commensurate with achieving low cost ownership. This new equipment will
be designed, manufactured and installed using local expertise.

Stages of evisceration process

The six stages of the evisceration process start with the Vent Cutter,
which prepares the chicken for the next operation by removing the complete
cloacal sphincter without breaking the intestine. Following this, the Opening
Machine makes an incision from the popes nose to the keel bone, in preparation
for the spoon on the Eviscerator to enter the abdominal cavity and remove the
contents. Once the edible offal has been harvested, the birds enter the Cropper,
where the crop, trachea and neck glands are removed. The neck breaker then
does exactly that, and the birds finally enter the Inside/outside wash
machine.

Why the new design?

The aim of the new design of these six machines will be to improve ease of
maintenance, make parts cheaper and allow for complete cleaning. To this end,
the cam drums normally found in these machines have been replaced by hollow
tracks supporting segmented synthetic cam units.

â€œIt is our goal to offer abattoir owners a line of poultry processing
equipment that is efficient and cost effective,â€ says Young. â€œBy developing
products based on proven and efficient principles will not only make our
products better value for money but will allow for an increased yield on behalf
of the abattoirâ€.

JF Equipment will be taking orders for the new evisceration equipment from
August 2008.